Sasha hoped to see a certain species of bird in this area and, while we didn't see it, I had fun looking for it. Heading down country roads and keeping an eye out for birds made for a pleasant morning. It would have been very low key had it not been for the wind. We encountered the Mistral and heading any direction other than south was quite challenging. As you can see by the map, we had a solid tailwind most of the day. When we gave up on finding the grouse in the fields, we headed towards the Camargue for more bird watching, this time for the famous flamingos. That is a wild place. The landscape is flat and treeless and the wind is strong. Views of tall grasses rippling in the wind and water predominated. There wasn't much traffic at all on the road we took.
When we reached the south of the park, we turned onto a dirt road that is closed to traffic. Even though the road is only about 10 miles long, I felt like we were really braving the elements. At times we could see the white shimmer of salt in the distance. We also glimpsed numerous kites in the distance from people kite sailing on the sea. This road is a great place for bicycle meditation. The wind blows thoughts right out of your head. I found the surface of the paniers could be used as a rough sail to push the bike perpendicular to the wind.
The feeling of wildness intensified when we reached dunes near the coast. Sand had blown over the road which provided a diversion from wind riding. It was fun to ride through the patches of sand with the challenge of holding the bike up. After 3 or 4 ride-able patches, we reached this deep one. I think that Patrick hid behind a dune to wait for Anna and Sasha to see what action shots could be had.
Here is a view of the flamingos from the dirt road. A woman was watching them with her fingers in her ears to block out the wind.
After our afternoon out in the wild, it seemed bizarre to return to civilization this way. A long row of white campers lined the beach on the section of road that led to town.
I was surprised at just how touristy Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer was. Anna noted that it was a blue collar type of tourist that goes there on holiday. It seemed to me like quite an odd place for a beach holiday. We did enjoy our meal at a busy seafood restaurant where this pot of mussels was a big hit for Sasha and Patrick. The remainder of our evening entertainment consisted in strategizing , joking about, and placing bets on how/ how long to get a waiter to refill our bottle of water. Answer, all evening.
Top food of the day: mussels
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